Warm versus Cool Colours

Welcome! This article is a part of Crafted Colour – Practical Colour Theory for Craft series, which is aimed at helping you develop your colour confidence and craft with colour. Today you will learn about warm and cool colours.

The colours in the Colour Wheel can be separated into two types. Warm colours and cool colours.

Warm

Warm colours are created with red, orange and yellow and are active and full of energy. They remind us of sunlight, heat and happiness and seem to appear closer and stand out more readily.

Cool

On the other side of the colour wheel are the cool colours, made with blue, green and violet. Cool colours are calm, soothing and sometimes sad and remind us of water, sea and sky.

Both types of colours should be used when creating a colour scheme. For example, if your want your craft project to appear warm and full of energy it is important to use small amounts of cool colour to create balance and contrast. When creating a colour scheme or colour palette for your project it is important to consider the mood you want to convey. Knowing about Warm and Cool Colours is the first step.

Did you just see me sneak in the first rule of creating a colour scheme ? In case you missed it.

About Karen Mitchell

Karen Mitchell of Over the Moon Design is a Australian based bead maker and jewellery artist who specializes in mixed media techniques. Her favourite materials are silk, gemstones, polymer clay and mixed metals.